The present invention relates generally to building management systems. The present invention relates more particularly to fault detection and diagnostics in a building management system. A building management system (BMS) is, in general, a system of devices configured to control, monitor, and manage equipment in or around a building or building area. A BMS can include, for example, a HVAC system, a security system, a lighting system, a fire alerting system, any other system that is capable of managing building functions or devices, or any combination thereof.
Systems and devices in a BMS often generate temporal (i.e., time-series) data that can be analyzed to determine the performance of the BMS and the various components thereof. The data generated by the BMS can include measured or calculated values that exhibit statistical characteristics and provide information about how the corresponding system or process (e.g., a temperature control process, a flow control process, etc.) is performing in terms of error from its setpoint. These data can be examined by a predictive diagnostics system to expose when the monitored system or process begins to degrade in performance and alert a user to repair the fault before it becomes more severe.